We Are Loosing Our Black Men And Boys…..

Bernard Jeffrey McCullough left us on Saturday, he was one of the most down to earth, comedic philosophers of our era.  He told it like it ’twas, and often took the heat for that.  The main point about Bernie Mac is the fact that he never forgot where he came from, unlike some who think that they have “arrived”, but have ended up no where.  Another point that many have voiced is that he cared about his family, fought for them, and put them as the priority, which, in spite of the prevailing public perception, many black men still do take care and defend their families.

Here is one of Bernie Mac’s lessons on “childhood diplomacy”:                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xeckni5DiBg

We will remember him for his efforts to improve the lives of everyone though laughter and how he “kept it real” no matter what the cost was to him.

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 ”There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs of others begins,” he said.  

Those were the words of Isaac Hayes, who passed on Sunday.  He, too, was a creative soul that made the world better because he was here.

Many do not know of the days when Hayes marched with Martin Luther King, Jr, or fought against intolerance and bigotry.  In those days, it cost to be a voice of equality just as it does today.

He also composed and performed one of the most popular movie scores in history, we have all heard it…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZzBrxj-Gjo&feature=related

This song symbolized an era of “blackexploitation” on TV and in movies that we still realize even today.

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Another African-American young man is lost to violence.  We must never become immune to hearing about it and must always become outraged when ANYONE is lost to needless violence, and be assured, ALL violence is needless.

Ricky Maurice Burton, a 16-year old rising junior that attended Henrico High, was shot and killed early Sunday morning as he was returning from work.  His mother made a heart-wrenching plea for someone to come forward in order to help the police locate the killers, who have been said to have stated that they “shot the wrong one.”

See: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-08-10-0273.html